Magic/Science/Alchemy
Magic: A common widespread tool. Essentially what received development instead of technical sciences. Development started as early as Counterpoint, although more sophisticated forms emerged in Chorus. In terms of military might, Magic is treated as a typical warfare tool. Your foes will likely be using it, so there is no need to not use it. Due to it's popularity it became the core point of military research/tactics. How many magical assets are on either side? Would our forces be prepared against a typical wizard? Despite the fact that it is rare for the average citizen to know magic, tools were made, counter tactics were developed, and when it initially gave rise as a terrifying concept (Counterpoint), it slowly became a common aspect of civilization. Basic magical effects and properties were taught in most schools/households, cheap runes and talismans were quite common for mundane things (conjure water, carry weight, etc). Type of Magic - Disconnection - Few are capable of this type of magic. Failure is said to result in death. COMMON knowledge and rumors have it that it pulls the users soul out of the body, and various stories are fabricated on how it actually works. Strangely enough, those who practice it are accepted, although treated with caution. The magic is thought to be dangerous with a price that high. The most typical and "primitive" magical abilities various Magi can use are LIGHT and SOUND. Small cheap effects: light obviously has its uses, but sound not so much. Mastery of these often lead to sneaky rogue types and illusionists. Following this is FORCE and TRANSMUTATION. Force is all about motion, and well force. Holding things together, making things move. It's needed to manipulate the elements Wind, Water, and Earth. Transmutation is about changing the state of something - it's needed to learn Lightning, Fire, and Temprature changing. It's possible to master pure force, or pure transmutation, but most opt for an element. Few attempt to master pure temperature changing without knowing something else (typically water for cold, and fire for hot) Less typical magical abilities deal with more... life things Natural magic - which deals with healing wounds (or making them worse), growing plants (or hindering them) etc "Divine" magic is just manipulation of pure aura, called "Divine" or "Pure" because of belief. Typical holy warrior stuff, both with utility and combat And Psionic magic: psychic stuff, being able to extend the senses beyond. Light/Sound is the most common, followed by Force. Transmutation is kind of rare Natural/Divine/Psionic is between uncommon and rare, but partly because they tend to be snooty bastards The "Heirarchy" changes depdning on where you are and who you meet Fire and Lightning consider themselves at the top due to their notoriuos win rate (except against Earth, Fire VS Water, Lightning VS Ice) Frankly the snooty bastard trinity (Natural, Divine, Psionic) thinks Transmutation is full of barbaric devil worshippers, akin to scientists (Transmutation users take that science part to a great offence. The devil worshipping... kind of accurate in various cases) Water, Earth and Air tend to be quite relaxed, the snooty bastard trinity likes water the best but only because it fuels natural magic so much. They think earth and air are simple minded fools, but that's MUCH better than a barbarian (see? we think you're better than them!) It's mostly the Divine/Natural users that speak for the trinity, Psionics tend to be more silent. Now I need to make the chart Nobody has any idea what Nova is and refuses to believe it exists I know in pokemon fire wins over ice but Im just having fun imagining an ice user blocking against a fire user like theyre both having this contest on HOT! COLD! HOT! COLD! and the ice is melting but growing at the same speed, the fire is just blasting the ice shield as hard as it can Air is more numerous than Water which is more numerous than Earth Fire is inbetween earth and water in terms of numbers, but this grows smaller because of recklessness Lightning is actually inbetween air and water but nobody tries to defend themselves against their own element so The snooty bastard trinity typically serve the state and law - theyre the kind that end up to be court wizards, enforcers, and clerics/templars. The general populace holds a high respect for the clerics/templars because they're the doctors, they help with agriculture, and the temple gardens are always a nice place to go :V Basic Light/Sound/Force masters also end up being court wizards, and are much more common than court wizards from the bastard trinity Fire and Lightning get along well together and often band in chaotic cities, or as nomadic groups who travel the world with their own rules. Earth tends to seclude itself to its own work, water users are quite unpredictable at times and dont really have as prominent of a pattern, but not nearly at the level of air users- who are sometimes mistaken for basic force users and sometimes you cant tell the difference (Did you feel that push? Yeah. WInd or Force? I have no idea) Religion: There are some entities that stayed after the sealing. a vast majority of these entities are mere shadows of what once was: but still reside in this world with their minimal influence (minimal compared to the gods before) These beings are what powered religion They were remnants of the "elements": Nature, Soul (Divine), Mind (Psionics), Force, Change (transmutation), Fire, Lightning, Heat, Cold, Water, Earth, Air, Light, Sound, and a variety of others who are just combinations, sub classes (IE - water subclass -mist) Some were worshipped (typically the nature gods) others were left to be I think IDK I was just making that up Science/Alchemy: What many Magi and Ruler fear the most. Losing control over the populace, or at least losing power to the under-cities. Mass produced magical items used to be the go to for more powerful bandits and thugs, but when that stuff happened, there were professionals, magic or not, capable of taking care of the problem. Magic was known, and accounted for. It was traceable, it could be detected in 90% of the cases. Firearms and other devices that could cause more damage than previously known were not, and were highly problematic. There have been many cases of villages being overrun by the new technology, often stolen, or used as a display for might. So many kingdoms agreed: Make it taboo. Spread fear that this new technology, these advancements would bring about the end. That people who use such tools were cowards and monsters, below the average upstanding person who knew their place in the hierarchy. It was believed that if this was allowed to rise, monarchies would fall. And monarchies were the ones funding the schools of arcana. Where else would they get the materials and permissions? Who else would be able to pay them for their unique talents? This meant that they would be kept in check but with a mansion and a hefty paycheck, would most Magi complain? No, they would not. So the monarchy falls, the magi take a huge hit. A kingdom without magi is seen as having a disadvantage, whether they have additional armies or not. And even for citizens, it's nice knowing Magi are under higher powers that are protecting you within the walls. Even in a lower class, being vulnerable is terrifying, and not worth the fall of decent sovereigns. (Many rebellions happen when royalty fails to keep balance, and lessons have been learned: balance is key. The introduction to more power threatens the balance, which could ruin a kingdom entirely. Various people and some kingdoms do not share this opinion, however. It's quite a controversial topic, although most folk lean towards fear rather than acceptance.)